DirecTV HD TiVo HR10-250! - Page 2  

Did you get the 99 dollar deal? if so, you would make money on the box on ebay. Or if yours is a brand new install at what, 399 or 499, you are still making out pretty good with a 3lnb dish, ota antenna, cable run and HD receiver. At a minimum you would get 150 back on ebay selling the current STB's D* provides. And remember, if you don't already have a 3lnb dish and OTA antenna, if you want D* to set you up they aren't going to give you a lower price without a HD STB, so you might as well take it. The D* deals are all or nothing.

Another option, if you are in a good OTA reception area, would be to temporarily cancel your D* order, go out to a retailer and buy an OTA only HD STB and a Silver Sensor indoor antenna. As long as you are within the 30 day return policy, you could use that box and then return it and use the refund towards your HD Tivo

daniel

Any current model HD ready set on the market will be compatible with the HD-Tivo. Make sure it has a DVI or HDMI input, which should be easy, as all the new HD sets do (free opening for some wiseguy who knows of an obscure newer model HD set that only has component or RGB, feel free to slam me). Beyond that, read the different threads on the AVS forum that talk about the differnent makes, models, and types of HDTV's available. And make sure you read up on the Sony lamp issue here: Sony GWIII buzz It's only 128 pages long now :eek:

Edit - 4/28/04 Please do not construe this post as meaning that the HD Tivo won't work with component connection. I'm suggesting DVI/HDMI only becuase of potential HDCP issues that may occur with certain programming if you don't have an HDCP compliant DVI/HDMI connection

good luck

daniel

How is the quality of the de-interlacing and scaling relative to the HD-SAT520?

Weaknees.com put up their pre-order junk yesterday, and guess how much they want for it?

1300 bucks. Well, I won't be shopping from them anymore.

It's listed on Best Buy's web site as "Coming Soon", but all the info is there. Listed for $999.

I currently have an Mitsu HD box with one coax coming in from the satellite and one from the OTA antenna. How will I need to modify this configuration to install the HD TiVo box?

I'm guessing I can just use a satellite splitter to split the satellite coax for each of those inputs and then do the same to the OTA coax for the other two OTA inputs. Is it that simple?

Know where I can get a good (inexpensive) satellite coax splitter?

Thanks for any help and I hope this applies to people other than myself.

No. You don't have to split the OTA; it's split internally in the box. But satellite signals can't be split. You have to run a second coax line directly from the multi-switch built in to the 3 LNB dish, assuming that's what you are using & you want the dual recording capability. Otherwise you'll be limited to only recording 1 sat channel at a time.

IIRC, if you only have one satellite coax feed, you can only record one program at a time, regardless of whether it is satellite or OTA. Apparently the HD TiVo manages the four tuners as two pairs--one satellite and one OTA each. The number of simultaneous recordings is constrained by the number of active satellite coax inputs.

So this http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...5Fid=16%2D2579 won't split my satellite signal?

Nope. Despite the deceptive name it is only really useful for splitting the output from your receiver. It is possible it will split the input, but you will be limited to receiving only one transponder at a time, (meaning some channels will not be recordable depending on what you are watching at the time), which will greatly diminish the value of two tuners in the receiver. I have used a similar item with an UltimateTV receiver and found the hassles, (signal issues, delayed tuning, etc.), were not worth the slight benefit possible if both channels you were interested in were on the same transponder.

Does this mean I cannot use it with my older Sony XBR300 or NEC projector which both only handle component or RGB Hi-Def?

Norm

The HD TiVo has component video output that should work fine for your component inputs on the Sony and NEC.

I would have thought it was the $200-$300 tivo upgrades that cost $50 if you do it yourself that would have swayed your opinion away from them...

I edited my post. I was replying to someone who was buying a new TV, and was advising DVI/HDMI only because of HDCP issues. As BudgetHT said, component will work fine as well. Sorry for the confusion

daniel

Any word if they received FCC approval, to be able to down-rez component output?
I have an older TV and that, is the main thing holding me back.

the dual tuner single sattelite thing isn't entirely correct.. as I have been reading, there is something where you go through setup for only one satellite line (giving you only one OTA tuner), but then can change options on the box afterwards to give access to both OTA tuners.. does anyone else remember reading this? Will try to find the info....

But that puts the box into a mode where it thinks both satellite tuners are active as well; and there's no algorithm behind scheduling which tuner records programming, so you risk having the unit try to record your satellite programming via the inactive tuner.

Since there is not a whole lot of info in this thread regarding user experience with the HR10-250 (most of it is in the tivo community forums) I'll give my initial impression after using it for 2 days. A little background. I have been using various HDTV equipemnt for about 4 years starting with the DTC100, then the MyHD PC card, followed by the Samsung 160. Regarding HD recording I mostly used the MyHD card recording to disk. I also have a JVC 30K DVHS deck and have used it to archive a small number of tapes from MyHD recordings. I have also used the Roku HD1000 to playback my MyHD recordings with good results. I have also been using SD PVRs for about 2 years. First with UltimateTV and then with Directivo. Until now I was never really satisfied with my HD recording capabilties and ease of use. I ended up watching alot of programming in SD because it was so much easier to do.

The new HD tivo unit works pretty much as advertised. I can't think of anything it doesn't do that it was supposed to. Based on my limited testing the OTA reception is about the same as the Samsung (which is better than the DTC100). I can now finally watch all available (OTA and Directv) HD programming when I want to. The unit is still fairly responsive even when recording 2 HD streams and watching another (previously recorded). It has the option to show only HDTV channels/programs in the guide. You can also search for programs to record using HDTV as a criteria. For people that are used to using Tivo, the HD Tivo is a no brainer. It is easy enough for the whole family to use. There is really not alot more I can say about the box because it works just like a Tivo user would expect. I would be glad to answer any specific questions. BTW I am using component output only to a 55" Mits. RPTV and using the digital audio out only to an Onkyo reciever.

Jay

Jerdni, Thanks for the info. Just one question that I am confused about. Since you had the t160 you might be able to answer whether this unit can be tricked into stretching digital 1080i ota with side bars inserted by the station?On the t160 you can hit the 4:3 option and then hit zoom. Does the tivo have a way of stretching digital ota with sidebars to fill a 16:9 screen? I am very glad to hear that the ota tuner is as good as the t160.
Thanks, Jeff

No there is no such capability. The HD Tivo cannot modify a HD broadcast at all. It also has no zoom or expand function, even on SD material, only "panel" or "full". The side panels can be set for gray or black. The only way to achieve this (at least with my TV) is by putting the Tivo in 480i mode and then using your TV's zoom function. The lack of screen formatting capabilties and that the unit cannot do native res path thru seem to be the weakest point of the unit based on the posts over in the tivo community forum.

In my situation it's not a big deal, but I can see how might be for some people depending on their other equipment. One small benefit is that it is easy to switch output resolutions with the up-arrow key. You can configure which resolutions (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i) to cycle thru when the up-arrow is pressed. I have mine set to 480i and 1080i so that it will toggle between those 2 resolutions. I will probably keep mine set to 1080i all the time anyway.

Jay

Jay, thanks for the info.

Jay,

I have two questions.

1. How noisy is the unit?
2. How much heat does it generate?

Thanks,

Dave

Regarding the noise level: it is not silent, but it is about as quiet as can be expected. There is a "whirring" noise comming from the fan/drive, but it is not too bad. There is not a high pitch whine that some drives (especially WD) have. I also do not notice any seek "chatter". The heat is not an issue for me. I have the unit in a enclosed cabinet and I leave the front door open. The exterior of the unit is not even warm to the touch. The system information screen shows the internal temperature at "48 C (normal)". I also have 2 SD Directivos and the HD unit has about the same noise and heat as the SD units. I believe that the disk in the HD unit is a Western Digital. Hopefully it will be better than my other WD drives. I have had several WD drive failues in the past months and nearly all of their drives have had an annoying high pitch whine (some louder than others).

Jay

Incorrect. Please see Code of Federal Regulations (Title 47, Part 76, Section 640).

Just an FYI, a CFR isn't really a law.. it's an administrative code.

Some of the administrative actions have the force of law due to a congressional action, others are "mandates" without force of law behind them. I believe this one is a mandate, where the cable companies reached an agreement with the FCC, to prevent the FCC from using either an existing law or lobbying congress for a new law.

(If you want the specifics find a lawyer to explain all of this.. it's pretty interesting!)

This only applies to cable TV decoders, not satellite receivers.

Can anyone comment on the speed of channel changing. I am not sure if this affected by the actual time it takes the dish to receive the signal or if this is something that a tuner has more control over.

Thanks.

Is there a current list for Value Electronics pre orders?

I know there is a thread on the TiVo board but it is quite long and I could not find my order # on the list I did find.

Thanks.

That list is an unofficial creation of a member. The only way your info will show up on that list is if you post it at the end of that thread or PM dswallow.

Just received a tracking number for a shipment to be made this afternoon.

This is the second batch of shipments from Value Electronics.

I'm due to get it tomorrow. My order # is 274.